CaratLane pilots own quick commerce; No plans for lab-grown diamonds
Bengaluru:
Omnichannel jewellery retailer
CaratLane
is rolling out its own
quick commerce
initiative, commencing with pilots in Gurgaon and slated for Hyderabad and Bangalore, a senior official of the company said.
Talking to ETRetail, Saumen Bhaumik, MD, CaratLane, emphasised the push for accelerated delivery times, targeting four to six hours in high-density PIN codes.
"Quick commerce has proved many theories wrong, so we are trying to make sure the delivery process is shorter and faster with our own bandwidth and infrastructure," he stated.
The development comes as retailers across categories are actively partnering with quick commerce platforms. Recently,
Kalyan Jewellers
joined hands with Swiggy's quick commerce platform - Instamart.
CaratLane, which reported a 24 per cent jump in its topline in FY25, has been diversifying its product range. Bhaumik shared that beyond 18-carat and 14-carat offerings, the company has launched a 9-carat jewellery range.
When asked if the brand plans to enter the growing
lab-grown diamonds
segment, Bhaumik reiterated CaratLane's stance. "No, CaratLane is not going to get into LGD. That's very clear. We are going to play in
natural diamonds
only." He further commented, "At the falling rate of LGDs, making money would be very difficult for anybody who is venturing into it."
Additionally, Bhaumik highlighted the strong trend towards
premiumisation in jewellery
. He noted that the Rs 50,000 and above segment is growing the fastest. The increasing popularity of solitaires, particularly in the mini solitaire category (20-70 cents), is also driving this trend, attracting many first-time diamond buyers, he added.
The Tata Group-owned jeweller retailer opened 50 stores last year and this fiscal is eyeing over 40 new stores. While online sales account for roughly 10 per cent of direct revenue, digital influence extends to 70-80 per cent of customer journeys, with many customers researching designs online before visiting a physical store, Bhaumik explained when asked about the revenue contribution of offline and online channels.
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